Antecedents to perceived news media importance and motivations for newspaper use: A needs-based framework

Abstract

Amid widespread skepticism about news media actors and journalistic practices, questions about citizens’ use of and dependency upon mainstream news media remain ripe for investigation. This research is designed to deepen an understanding of the concept of Perceived News Media Importance (PNMI) and consider it as a factor undergirding contemporary newspaper use. To this end, this study draws on the frameworks of uses and gratifications (U&G) and media system dependency theory for orienting an understanding of PNMI and its role in motivating newspaper use. Furthermore, based on the theoretical assumption that individuals’ various needs bear a capacity to shape their perceptions of media, Need for Evidence, and Need for Orientation were modeled herein as antecedents to PNMI. Analyses of data from two surveys—the first conducted in 2019 (Study 1: N = 1,077) and, the second, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (Study 2: N = 546)—confirm that PNMI not only positively predicts newspaper use but also mediates the effects of its hypothesized antecedents on newspaper use. The findings of the study highlight the utility of PNMI and related concepts for understanding citizens’ media consumption behaviors in a rapidly changing and uncertain media environment.